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Hi there. So I'm a 2L; I've got 3 semesters of law school to go. I've had people tell me to be practical and focus on taking "bar courses" when it comes to class selection (i.e., take non-required but "important" courses like criminal procedure, corporations, wills and trusts etc); while other people have told me to take whatever classes I'm actually interested in, because bar review will teach me everything I need to know anyway.

The thing is, if I were to select every "bar course" offered at my school, I would basically have no room for any classes that actually interest me. So on the one hand, I'd be mind-numbingly bored for the rest of my law school semesters, but on the other hand, at least I'd know I've spent money only on courses that helped further prepare me for the bar.

What's your take? How are you selecting your courses (personal interest vs. strict practicality)? Thanks in advance.

I'm going the practical route and taking all bar courses. I'm not sure i'd be able to learn UCC 9 in 2 weeks from a barbri class.

My opinion is to take a mix of bar courses / courses in the area you plan on working / maybe 2 or so "just for fun" courses. Unlike the previous poster, I think that bar review will pretty much take care of you.

Whatever classes you can get the best grades in. It's easier to spin a bullshit class to a potential employer than a B or a B-.

Both options are wrong. Take courses that have the easiest exams to prepare for or shortest final assignments. We're talking oral advocacy courses, classes that have homework or weekly response papers instead of exams, profs notorious for covering light amounts of material in the same way every year such that strong outlines exist, etc.

Subject matter is irrelevant. Law school is pointless.

YWIA.

You will be fine with Barbri. I learned eight of the twelve essay topics during the summer.


...that said, I was freaking out the entire summer about the amount of material I had to learn. For subjects where I had actually taken the course in lawschool, bar review was a breeze and hardly any study was required.

From what I have seen, there is no real consensus. It comes down to many things. Do you want to clerk with an article III judge? Do you have a job lined up? Etc.

If you want a federal clerkship, you have to take certain classes, many of which are bar classes. Most law students are not gunning for this so the classes they take are less important.

Personally, I think everyone, including those interested in transactional law, should take Evidence (2L's opinion). Other than that, do what you want. I took 2 bar classes last semester and will be taking one next semester. In both semesters my schedule has 2-3 "harder" classes and around 2 easier classes. I like a mix.

random5483 wrote:From what I have seen, there is no real consensus. It comes down to many things. Do you want to clerk with an article III judge? Do you have a job lined up? Etc.

If you want a federal clerkship, you have to take certain classes, many of which are bar classes. Most law students are not gunning for this so the classes they take are less important.

Personally, I think everyone, including those interested in transactional law, should take Evidence (2L's opinion). Other than that, do what you want. I took 2 bar classes last semester and will be taking one next semester. In both semesters my schedule has 2-3 "harder" classes and around 2 easier classes. I like a mix.

Out of curiosity, why Evidence? I'm not going to do litigation so I wasn't going to take it.

Remember all those specific rules you remember from your first semester 1L courses? Oh you don't remember much? Yeah me neither. Why would you expect "bar" courses to end up any differently (especially since 2/3Ls don't try to learn anything)? There's no point in taking a bar course because its a bar course if it's not going to really help you that much on the bar. If there's one thing I learned this semester, only take classes you want to take and will be interested in. The work is easier to get motivated for and you'll get a better grade.